Although his name will still appear on the electoral ballot, independent candidate Lo Fu-chu (羅福助) announced yesterday that he will withdraw from the year-end legislative elections.
Lo, who was running for a seat in Taipei County's first electoral district, said his withdrawal has nothing to do with rumors of insufficient campaign funds.
Lo said his 83-year-old mother had asked him not re-enter politics because with both Lo and his brother Lo Ming-tsai (羅明財) campaigning, there would be nobody to take care of the family business.
Lo said that since it was impossible for him to do his duty to the country and his duty to his parents at the same time, he decided to pull out of the race.
The Central Election Commission, however, does not have a procedure for the post-registration withdrawal of candidates, so Lo's name will still appear on the ballot.
When asked what he would do if he won a seat despite his withdrawal, Lo said he would take up the seat in order not to disappoint the hopes of the people.
But he said the chances of his winning without campaigning were slim.
He said his pull-out would have pros and cons for both the pan-green and pan-blue camps.
According to a pan-blue camp campaign official, Lo's campaign was initially going to make use of the vote captains and contacts of former DPP legislator Chou Po-lun (周伯倫), and would probably have taken as many green votes as blue ones.
The official said Lo's withdrawal would benefit both parties equally.
A pan-green campaign official said that Lo's campaign style was likely to draw blue votes, but since parties were more important that individual candidates this time, the effect of Lo's withdrawal on the election would be minimal.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS